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It Must Not Be Important

Interesting that this story is not at the top of the headlines in the country. Iraq is close to exploding into civil war, a scenario that many opposing the Bush Administration’s actions in Iraq predicted would come about. Yet, Google’s current “Top Stories” don’t include it, it’s not on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle or the Sacramento Bee. We have more than 100,000 American military in the country who are, potentially, about to be embroiled in an outcome that was predicted by many, yet it’s not leading the evening news. Nor is it the hottest topic for blogs, which currently appears to be reserved for a story that looks like a dud to me, the UAE port maintenance deal. Side note on that, the UAE company that won the contract will NOT be providing security, regardless of what you read on dozens of blogs out there.

Like this:

I’m sure we’ll hear about this once the port security kerfluffle blows over.

The news isn’t about what’s news, it’s about what the press can do to make the standing government look bad (double if it’s a republican administration).

(On a side note, either this thing is being blown out of proportion, or it really came out of nowhere, because I had little feel for a lot of it, and then bam!, civil war. That said, it does seem like things are coming to head, especially with the destruction of the shrine.)

http://thelibertypapers.org/2005/11/21/who-is-eric/ Eric

Oh, the tension between the Shiites and Sunnis has been building for a long time now. Since, at least, the early 1980’s. As for the current flare up, that was clearly coming for a while. All the sides (there’s a lot more than two involved in this mess) have been restrained by a lot of other factors. Not the least of which is the desire to get to the point where a foreign military is not in their country.

http://belowbeltway.blogspot.com Doug

As we sit here more than a decade after the OJ trial, do we really need to ask ourselves if the media really focuses on what’s important ?

As I read Eric’s post, I had Fox News Channel on in the background. Greta Can Susteren is, once again, talking about the Natalee Holloway case. CNN is talking about the ports story, as are the talking heads on MSNBC. Meanwhile, NBC is engaged in its quadrennial attempt to convince us that figure skating is a sport.

Its all about easy sound bites and breads and circuses.

http://thelibertypapers.org/2005/11/21/who-is-eric/ Eric

Something of significance is going on, but it’s in another country. And, even more importantly, it can’t be easily explained. And, most importantly, there isn’t a simple meme that can be used for whichever theme is on the agenda this week.

Oh, I know the tension has been building since the ’80s…having a large number of your population summarily executed by a strongman of the opposite sect tends to do that. It just seems like things came to a head rather quickly, although I definitely agree that it was a long time in coming. I guess I just didn’t expect this big of a powder keg event; figured it would be a bit more gradual slide towards civil war.

Oh, and Doug…give me curling any day. That’s a real man’s sport.

http://www.pubcrawler.blogspot.com/ tkc

“Oh, the tension between the Shiites and Sunnis has been building for a long time now.”
You just answered your own question. This is not news. As for the predictions of failure in Iraq, they’re dime a million. It reminds me of the immenent collapse of the housing bubble that has been predicted for the past year or more. As soon as something bad happens somebody, somewhere will claim vindication. I can predict every day that John Doe will die and one day I’ll be right, however, that doesn’t make me insightful in any particular way.

http://www.thelibertypapers.org/ Eric

Of course the predictions are a dime a million. I find it interesting, though, that the very media that has been predicting the failures since March, 2003 is not now trumpeting this. Actually, they’re starting to today. Sadly, the real coverage seems pretty slim.